Trouble in Paradise
by Complicated Days
Summary: AH/OOC. A handsome young man by the name of Dimitri joins Paradise High, and rumors of his past start to spread. When Rose learns that he's a serial heart breaker, she takes on a bet to date and make him fall madly in love with her - all before prom, where she breaks his heart in public. But love has a funny way of creeping up on the least suspecting of people... Future lemons!
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**Hello people, new and old readers!**

**This is for my older readers. **

**Okokok i get it, im sorry for how i seem to drop off the face of the earth for a few weeks and then come back with a shitty update or two before disappearing again... im getting really, really lazy now since its the holidays and even though im bored as fuck, i cant seem to get my ass over to my chair and start writing. and shit, now i need to apologize AGAIN because instead of updating the sweetest series OR seduction and deception, i went ahead and started another fucking story...**

**uhhhhh. i don't have an excuse for that, but i REALLY needed a breath of fresh air. and admittedly, a high school romance story sorta appeals to me right now, so... again, im sorry that i have such a short attention span and a lazy asshole, but i cant help it :/ **

**On a brighter note. . .**

**Im halfway through a one-shot (at the threat of someone by the name of lily_parker...) about Rose and Dimitri, and its going to be uploaded to Behind Closed Doors, so you can kinda guess what it's going to be about. Uh huh. Sex. Yeah, sex. And this isn't going to be like my other lemons, nope. See, I've sorta decided that I'm going to go on turbo mode for this one, like off the charts hot. Which actually might translate to 'dirty', but... I'll try not to go overboard, k? ;) Oh, and I'm also going to be entering that one-shot in a fan-fic contest, so if you like it... *hinthinthinthinthinthint***

**Back to the story!**

**Okay, this story is going to revolve around Rose and Dimitri. They're going to be the center of attention, with the story building around them. There will be other characters and couple pairings, but those will be short and a sort of 'break' between each Rose and Dimitri scene. I promise I won't put as much emphasis on them because it'll drag out the story too much, (and God knows I lose interest way too fast to finish a long drawn out story) **

**It's gonna be your stereotypical high school story with them all being seniors and stuff, but I'll try to make it as exciting as possible, so try not to get bored before the action really starts :)**

**Below is a little excerpt...**

* * *

Dimitri stiffened when he saw that it was her at the door.

She gave him a rueful smile as she fought past the violent, powerful chokehold of emotions that surfaced the moment she laid eyes on him after so long. It could have been a mere day; it could have been years, decades even. She wasn't quite sure anymore.

Time held no significance to her.

It seemed that without Dimitri, little did.

A week ago, that would have had scared her senseless, sent her running.

But no longer.

"You shouldn't be here." Quiet, implacable words.

Rose's heart sank at the rejection, but the overwhelming need to make things right had her standing her ground. She had always been stubborn, perhaps more so than Dimitri even, but maybe, for once in her life, it was going to become one of her redeeming qualities. "I know," she said quietly, an ache in her chest at his emotionless eyes, his expression as hard and unforgiving as granite. "But if you'll just give me a chance to explain - "

"I don't have any more time for your games, Rose." Dimitri said, even more quietly, and all the more stinging. But he didn't close the door, didn't make any movement to shut her out, and Rose took comfort in that. That meant that despite everything that he had said, beneath his harsh and bitter exterior, he still _yearned_ – and that was already more than she could have ever hoped for.

And in that instant, Rose realized with startling clarity that words would never be able to express the strength of her feelings towards him, that it was close to impossible to put to words all the jumbled emotions within her. It would just be a hindrance.

So she just let down all her defences, knowing without the slightest shadow of a doubt that even in his state of distraught and disarray, Dimitri will never intentionally hurt her. That in itself broke her, how selfless the man she had fallen in love with was. And with that, a blinding sense of peace – it was now or never.

She let the memories of their time together – no matter how woefully short and piteously inadequate it was to her – wash over her.

She let the emotions she had kept carefully in check inside of her go, giving them free reign.

And most importantly, she just let herself be, just let herself _love _Dimitri.

And it all showed in her eyes.

* * *

**Okay, there's the little sneak peak into Rose and Dimitri's relationship towards the end, and now that you know that they had a sort of fall out, can you guess what led to it? :) (just realized that with the summary of the story, its pretty damn obvious already...) it'll be pretty obvious in a few more chapters, but for now, I'll like to keep all of you guys in suspense... Here's the actual chapter below. **

* * *

"If I was a lost puppy, would you bring me home?"

Rose paused in the middle of scribbling some barely legible words on her overdue history assignment long enough to look up at Adrian Ivashkov – one of her best friends since freshman year – and shake her head tiredly. "Way too cheesy."

It was the start of senior year, and the two of them had agreed last night to meet up earlier so they could cram in some last minute work. Adrian's definition of 'work', however, appeared to somewhat differ from hers.

"I thought so too." The varsity team wrestler sitting across the table from her didn't appear the slightest bit daunted though, for he just moved his index finger downwards a slight inch on the piece of paper to land on another pick-up line. "Okay, what about this? If you were a tear in my eye, I won't cry for fear of losing you."

Rose stifled a groan, covering her ears with her palms. "Please spare me the agony."

A few minutes passed in relative peace after that as Adrian studied his printout of pick-up lines so intensely that one would think he was figuring out a way to defy gravity. Rose was just grateful for the reprieve so she could work on her essay in earnest. Then, "Aha!"

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

The wryness of her tone in no way dampening his excitement, Adrian pinched the fabric of his T-shirt and asked, "Do you know what material this is?"

Sighing, Rose once again found herself having to stop to glance up at Adrian. They had been going at this for almost an hour now, and Rose was quickly losing her patience. At the rate she was going at, she would be lucky if she managed to finish her work before Christmas arrived. "Remind me again why you're doing this?"

"Why, for the good of mankind of course!"

"I fail to see how finding the best pick-up lines is going to benefit the human race in any way."

A quick shrug of his shoulders. "Neither do I" – He held out his hand, palm outwards in a silencing gesture when Rose was about to express her disbelief – "but rest assured that you'll be the first one to know when I figure it all out."

"You're so full of bullshit." Crude words that were otherwise laced with affection.

Adrian smiled, not bothering to refute her statement. "Ah, but that's part of my charm."

Their conversation reaching another lull, Rose returned to her work while Adrian started fidgeting, clearly restless. He was so full of energy, asking him to stay still for longer than a minute was like getting a pig to fly.

As she thought, when it was a few seconds short of a minute, Adrian was up on his feet. "What's that you're doing?" Leaning over to peer at the essay she was hurrying through, it took even Adrian – the master of indecipherable handwritings – almost a minute to understand what he was reading. "History? Holy fuck, you have to be kidding me." Seating himself back down with a grimace, he said, "I've never stayed awake long enough in one of those lessons to remember anything. Sorry, I can't be of any help there."

"There's a reason why I didn't ask for any in the first place."

His grin was quicksilver, making him even more irresistibly cute. Being in the school wrestling team and competing in the lightweight category, Adrian was more lean than bulky, which really suited his charmingly good looks, what with his green eyes and lightly tousled brown hair. In a way, he was almost _beautiful, _but he had still not forgiven Rose when she had called him exactly that. "I'm overjoyed to know that you have absolute confidence in my knowledge._"_

"Always," Rose replied, mirroring his grin. It was so. . . easy to converse with Adrian, as if she could speak freely and never worry about being judged by him. Two years ago, during their junior year, they had dated, thinking that they were right for each other. However, Adrian was too much of a free soul to be tied down, and Rose had always been unreasonably possessive, so it was inevitable for the relationship to fail. Their friendship didn't sour though, and how they were still spending time with each other now was a testament to it.

The bell rang then, signaling the start of her last year in high school. "I'm not even halfway done yet!" she complained to him, gesturing at her essay. "And it's all your fault!"

Adrian didn't seem overly concerned. "Don't worry your pretty little head over it, Mr. Ribs probably won't even remember he assigned us anything."

"I'm on the verge of _failing _history, Adrian."

He blinked. "I already failed."

"You have a wrestling scholarship."

"That I do," Adrian said easily as he shoveled all his books into his bag before slinging it over his right shoulder, "but that's hardly the point."

Rose snorted, picking up her books strewn all over the surface of the bench. "Easy for you to say when you have something to fall back on. I need to get my GPA up this semester, or else it'll be close to impossible for me to enter Yale."

Falling into step beside Adrian, they joined the stream of students entering the doors of Paradise High. "Don't worry too much about it," Adrian advised her, "you've done great for the past three years; this year will be no exception."

"I hope so," Rose murmured, hugging the books to her chest.

A companionable silence followed for a few seconds as they shuffled forward with the crowd, then Adrian nudged her in the shoulder. "Right! I almost forgot. Back to where we left off. . ." Again, he pinched the fabric of his T-shirt and asked, this time with a silly grin on his face. "Any idea what material this is?"

Grudgingly, Rose reached out with a hand to feel the fabric. "Cotton?" she grumbled.

"No." His grin widened. "Boyfriend material!"

Rose groaned and covered her face with the hardcover of her history textbook to the sound of Adrian's laughter.

* * *

**sooo, since I don't live in america and have about zero idea on how high school works, can someone give me an insight of how stuff works there? I'll need to know more about the football teams, wrestling teams, courses and topics of study like english and maths (or do you have different names for them?) and other general points that i might not be aware of. I think I do know quite a bit, but i want to get the details right, so if you spot some mistakes, please do tell me about them and i'll change them. **

**I'll really appreciate any sort of help! Thanks :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Past and Present

Damn, that was a little. . . weird to write. You'll see what I mean in a bit.

Anyway! Thanks for all the reviews, really appreciate it :)

Oh, and if you guys want to see how my lemons are like, you can do so by going to Behind Closed Doors which is where I upload all my M-rated chapters to. Whatever lemons that I do write for this story will be uploaded there too, so no harm in checking it out!

* * *

A new start.

It was all Dimitri wanted.

A clean slate, all ties to his past erased.

No slanted glares, no judgmental looks, no hushed whispers from huddled groups.

An escape from a past that he wasn't proud of – that was all he had ever asked for.

Shielding his eyes from the piercing rays of the sun, Dimitri Belikov surveyed Paradise High. It bore little resemblance to his previous high school with its walls of the palest blush that complemented beautifully with the red tiled roof and an entirely different architecture, but that was something he could live with, especially since he didn't want any reminders regarding the life he had led back then.

It was funny, he mused absently as his long strides easily devoured the distance between him and the front door, how people always associated maturity with age. That may be the truth if the person in question wasn't clouded in his or her judgment by ways that were so ingrained in them it was like breathing. . . and he had learned that in the harshest way possible.

Shaking his head to prevent the ghosts of his past from resurfacing, Dimitri took the steps up to the entrance two at a time and ducked into the long, straight corridor that seemed to go on forever. A few bulletin boards lined the wall to his right, covered with a thousand a one pamphlets and notices that overlapped each other until it was a senseless mess. The endless rows of dark red lockers began just after the open door with a sign declaring it the 'Main Office', broken up every few meters by a closed brown door, which Dimitri guessed were the classrooms. There were several students milling about, either fiddling with their lockers or traipsing about aimlessly, but otherwise, the place was deserted. It made sense, since it was almost ten and lessons had probably started long ago.

Dimitri's lips curved up in a wry smile as he walked into the office, documents for transfer in hand. Maybe he should have hailed a cab after all.

* * *

Rose's head hit her desk, jarring her to partial wakefulness from the impact, only for her eyelids to droop again almost immediately from the lulling words leaving Mr. Kinkleton's – otherwise known as Mr. Ribs for how painfully thin he was – mouth. She tried, oh God, did she _try _to keep awake, but it was like his words were imbued with a magical spell that prompted her body to relax, to give in to an overwhelming sense of fatigue. . .

"Fuck."

Rose found herself trolling the corridors yet again, having been kicked out of history class. She had lost her – as Mr. Kinkleton so eloquently put it – 'privilege' to sit in on any of his lessons anymore since she – again, she quote – 'obviously harbored no respect towards the wondrous subject'. Still, she thought that she had gotten off quite lightly – Mr. Kinkleton considered falling asleep in his classes a sin punishable by spending centuries in the burning corridors of Hell. . . which he soon realized he was incapable of dishing out, so he settled for endless hours of detention and stacks of essays. Rose had gotten neither; she was just ushered out of the classroom. Of course, Rose had not stuck around long enough for him to change his mind – or remember that he was supposed to do so, which was the more likely scenario.

Her hopes of getting a good grade for history diminishing rapidly, Rose contemplated between hiding in the bathroom till next period to avoid being discovered by Alto Patrol, the principal of Paradise High who took great pleasure in roaming the halls during classes to catch loitering students, or heading outside for a bit of fresh air. A quick glance at her phone revealed that there was roughly twenty minutes more before the next bell, and the prospect of being stuck in the ladies for that length of time was far from appealing.

Decision made, Rose started towards the entrance of the school, trying to act as inconspicuous as she could. There was nobody but a lone janitor in sight, hunched over near the supplies closet, and she was quite confident that she could get past without –

The said janitor chose that exact moment to look up – and _holy _shit, it wasn't a janitor but a teacher Rose had seen around the school a few times. The balding man narrowed his eyes in suspicion when he saw her slinking past with what Rose knew was the most ridiculous expression on her face. Smiling weakly, she waved at him, hoping that he was too preoccupied with whatever he was doing to bother with her.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" he asked sharply, and Rose inwardly groaned, forced to halt in her tracks to face the nosy teacher. "If I'm not wrong, lessons are still ongoing." He raised a hand when Rose was about to come up with the first excuse that came to her mind. "And don't tell me that you were heading for the ladies', it's _that" – _he pointed in the opposite direction she was going – "way."

Okaaaay, so _that _excuse was out of the question. Thinking fast, knowing that with each passing second her credibility was dropping into the nether regions, she blurted out, "I'm going to the principal's office to meet a friend of mine."

Mr. Plerk – that was his name, she suddenly recalled – raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Oh, really? Why will this friend of yours require your assistance?" Standing up, he dusted off his hands.

Rose really, really wanted to kick herself. Of all the times for her to say something incredibly stupid, she had to do it then. "Uhhh, he's a new transfer student," she said quickly, knowing only too well that the hole she was digging herself into was getting harder and harder to extricate herself from, "I volunteered to show him the ropes. Y'know, bring him around the school and stuff."

Looking understandably dubious, Mr. Plerk motioned for her to continue with an incline of his head. "Go on, I won't want to hinder you from your responsibilities," he said and Rose interpreted it as a dismissal, hurrying off like the devil was on her heels. But she had merely taken a few steps before Mr. Plerk's raspy voice sounded out, "Actually, I'll like to meet your friend as well. It'll be great if you could bring him up to my office on the third floor so I can give him a very warm welcome."

Rose turned around, dread making her motions stiff. "I don't think that he'll – "

"I insist." Mr. Plerk interrupted, and the note of finality in his voice left no room for argument. "If you fail to do so, Miss Hathaway" – Rose tried not to act surprised that he knew her name – "I regret to inform you that you will be spending some quality time with me in detention." He only waited long enough for Rose to nod glumly in response before striding off with his chest puffed out like a cocky rooster.

Making a face at his retreating back, Rose pivoted and –

"Oof!" Colliding with something very hard and warm and unquestionably _male, _all of Rose's breath left her in a gasp as she lost her balance and staggered backwards, hands flailing. She was about to hit the ground in an unceremonious heap, observing detachedly that there were a bunch of papers fluttering around in the air when strong hands wrapped around her mid-section, holding her up scant inches from the ground. Breathing heavily, it took a moment for her to orientate herself, and when she did, it was to look into the most soulful brown eyes she had ever seen, framed by decadently long lashes.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice deep and husky. Her savior was staring back at her, and Rose held his gaze for about a second more before she had to look away, her cheeks heating up, but not before she noticed how handsome he was. He – whoever he was – had a strong jaw, full lips and slightly tan skin. His black hair was cropped short and charmingly messy – product of after either an agonizingly long period of styling, or just the wind tousling it up for him. She guessed it was the latter.

"Yeah, thanks to you," she said good-naturedly, gently extracting herself from his hold as she furiously tried to find her footing. It wasn't like her to be so easily flustered, especially when the cause of it was just a harmless touch. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going."

"Don't worry about it, I'm partially to blame too," he assured her with a charming smile that had her stomach doing a weird flip before bending over to pick up the scattered pieces of paper on the floor. Rose was about to reply with another pleasantry, but thought better of it. That would make her appear too docile. That was the main reason, really. It wasn't because she didn't wish to make a further fool of herself. She couldn't care less about what the boy she had just met for less than a minute thought of her. She wasn't out to impress him or anything like that anyway –

"Mind giving me a hand?"

"Huh?" Shaking her head to clear her mind, Rose blinked at him. "Sorry, what?"

The ghost of a smile touched his lips, but his tone was even when he spoke. "Do you mind helping me pick up my stuff? I don't want to be late for my next lesson. You are, after all, the reason why I dropped them in the first place." There was a bite of mirth in his tone towards the end.

"Oh." Feeling idiotic, Rose nodded, squatting down to retrieve the fallen documents. "Yeah, sure." As an afterthought, she said, "I'm not usually so clumsy and spacey." When he gave no outward reaction to her statement, she added hastily, "I just figured that you'll like to know that." Almost immediately, she cringed from how pathetic and random that must have sounded, as if she was trying to redeem herself in his eyes or something.

The boy paused in the act of shoving a few pieces of paper back into the folder in his hand long enough to regard her with open amusement. "Thank you for sharing with me such a crucial piece of information about yourself. I wasn't sure that I would have been able to live the rest of my life without knowing that."

Despite herself, Rose laughed. "Not bad, a sense of humor."

"Actually, it was sarcasm." A small smile. "But I guess the boundaries are a little blurry for people who aren't usually so clumsy and spacey, huh?"

"Ouch." Rose smiled too, shaking her head in mock disapproval. "Is that how you interact with strangers? By insulting them? Your social skills need some work."

"As much as your disability to look where you're going?"

"Fair enough." Heartened by the banter, Rose handed him the bundle of papers she had collected. Two words in bold on the paper at the top of the pile caught her eye – **Transfer Application.** And below, written in ink, was what Rose assumed was his name. "You're a new transfer student. . . Dimitri?"

"Yeah," Dimitri confirmed, accepting the pile of documents with a nod of thanks. "Today's my first day here."

Rose stood up, her heart skipping a beat. What were the fricking odds? "You're absolutely serious, right?"

Dimitri frowned, confused. "What about?"

"About you being a transfer student?"

"Uh, yeah. Hundred percent positive." He was looking at her oddly now. "You sure that you're not suffering from a concussion of some sort? 'Cos even though I'm new around here, there must be a nurse's office somewhere – "

"No, no, no," Rose laughed, waving away his concerns. This was too good to be true. Meeting an incredibly gorgeous guy who has a great sense of humor was one thing, but him being a newly transferred student? That was like a fucking dream come true. Or a proverbial prince riding to her rescue. "I know I just met you, and this may sound crazy but I kinda need a favor from you."

"What kind of favor?" Wariness in every word.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to jump my bones right here or something," she said jokingly, but it must not have been the right thing to say for Dimitri appeared as if he just got socked in the gut, flinching and clenching his knuckles.

"Shit, did I say something wrong?" she asked the exact same time Dimitri snarled, "what the fuck do you know?"

"Whoa, whoa." Rose held out her hands in what she hoped was a placating gesture, feeling very threatened by the savage anger glistening in Dimitri's eyes. "Let's calm down here, I think that – "

Dimitri clearly was no longer in the mood for any diplomatic bullshit. "How much do you know? How the fuck is it even possible? Does the entire school know?" When Rose just stared at him, stunned, he growled, "answer me, damn it!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rose said carefully, glancing back to see how far off she was from the office. Maybe if she made a run for it –

An iron-like grip closed around her wrist and Rose's scream died in her throat when a hand covered her mouth. Struggling and resisting as much as she could – not that it did much good against Dimitri's strength – she was dragged and pulled into the men's bathroom, then into one stall that stank of stale cigarettes and urine.

"Shut up," Dimitri hissed into her ear, holding her back against the wall, "I don't want to hurt you."

So this was it, Rose thought dazedly. This was how she was going to die. In the toilet, no less. Talk about the most undignified way to pass on. And to think that she was thanking God just minutes ago for answering her prayers –

Then Dimitri released her, and she started coughing as she sucked in lungfuls of air. If she wasn't leaning against the wall, she would have crumbled to her knees. "You fucking son of a bitch," she gasped in between breaths, pointing a trembling finger at the blasted asshole standing with his arms folded just a meter away, "what the fuck was that for, you fucking – "

"Do you," Dimitri started, ignoring his outraged cries, and his tone was all the more menacing with how quiet he was, "or do you not know about my past?"

"No, I don't fucking know anything about your damn past!" Rose spluttered, shoving at him with both hands in a futile attempt to make him fall over. He was built like a damn fortress and didn't even budge. "Now tell me: what the fuck was that for?"

Dimitri was silent, his gaze speculative as he just stared at her. At first, Rose was about to go on him with guns blazing with every intention to pummel him to the ground, but something held her back at the last second. That something was the anguish that was plain to see in his eyes. Anguish that spoke of deep pain. . . and a suffocating regret. "Jesus," she whispered, suddenly comprehending the reason behind his belligerent outburst, "what happened to you, Dimitri?"

Dimitri didn't immediately respond, and even when he did, it wasn't with words. He just shook his head, thrust a hand through his hair and sighed wearily in a way that told Rose he was shouldering a burden someone of his age should never have to. "I'm sorry, Rose," he said finally, and that apology was followed by a bitter bout of laughter as he walked out of the cubicle. "If only things could be fixed with just an apology, huh? The world would be a much better place."

Rose followed him out but didn't say anything; she didn't know what to.

Dimitri was almost out the door before he stopped, and without looking back, said quietly, "I know I'm in no position to ask this of you, much less after how roughly I treated you. . . but please don't tell anybody about what happened. I'm begging you." A short pause, as if he didn't know whether to continue or not. Then, "I don't want to have to move again."

And then he was gone, leaving Rose to her own devices.


	3. Chapter 3: Trouble

Hellloooooooooo! Okay, so here's chapter 3. And thanks again for all the reviews! I do have one question about high school, and it's what do they actually serve in the cafeteria? I'm just guessing here, but if I can get a list of stuff they do serve, it'll be great :) And uh, it _is _called the cafeteria right?

**Almost forgot! This might be something you guys are interested in, so please read! I'm going to be doing a bit of Q&A session with the characters in the story, and their answers are going to be corresponding to their personality and attitude in this story. I'll start off with a simple question, so you can see what I mean. If you do want to ask a question, (anything really, as long as it isn't too ridiculous that they *cough* ME *cough* can't answer) PM me a message or leave it in a review!**

* * *

_'**What is love?**'_

_'Love? You've got to be kidding me. That's years in the future. __If you don't mind, I'd rather not think about _

_such a distressing topic at this moment.' - Adrian Ivashkov_

_'Love is. . . deep. An emotion that can't be described with just words. It's too complex, too_

_sentimental.' - Dimitri Belikov_

_'Cuddling by the fireplace, comfortable conversations late into the night, being there for one __another. Too bad_

_love's only in fairytales and all guys in real life are jerks.' - Lissa Dragomir_

_'Something that everybody yearns for, but not something that everybody __is lucky __enough _

_to find.' - Christian Ozera_

_'Are you asking for the definition of love? Because if you are, it's an intense feeling of deep __affection. _

_If you're asking for my take on love. . . don't bother.' - Sydney Sage_

_'I don't know.' - Rosemarie Hathaway_

_'An impossibility. People say love is forever, but nothing is forever._

_Love doesn't exist.' - Eddie Castile_

_'Something that I hope for. . . something that I want. Took me a long time to realize_

_that you don't always get what you want.' - Jill Maestro_

* * *

Sydney hated jocks with a passion.

Besides for them being meat-headed assholes with inflated egos the size of the Empire State building, they were rude, unruly and more often than not, possess an IQ rivaling that of a typical household mouse that scampers around in search of small morsels to nibble on. The fact that they found most people not within their immediate social circle – meaning that they weren't glamorous, rich or attractive enough - beneath their notice only fueled her hatred. Oh, that, and how she was unlucky enough to be coupled with one of them for a chemistry project a year ago.

If she was to be paired again with one of those good-for-nothing jerks in her lifetime, it would be a few centuries too soon.

As luck would have it, when she cautiously walked into her first chemistry class of her senior year, it was with a sinking feeling that Sydney realized there weren't many seats left. The only few available seats were smack in the middle of the class – which Sydney would never, ever, even at gunpoint, choose – or to the side, where there were two empty seats right next to each other. It wasn't an ideal arrangement for someone like her who didn't like interacting with people more than absolutely necessary, but it would have to do. Just as Sydney was setting her bag down, she heard someone from the back of the class exclaim, "Oh my god, Adrian? You're in this class too?"

She looked up in disbelief at the person strolling through the door, as did every other head in the class. _Adrian? _As in Adrian Ivashkov? The varsity wrestler who, with his good looks and charming personality, was voted the hottest guy on campus on more than one occasion? The boy with the striking green eyes who's – as rumors had it – now single after breaking up, on amiable terms, with Rose Hathaway?

Don't ask how she knew that.

And it _was_ Adrian Ivashkov himself standing in front of the class with the famous lopsided grin of his that had captured too many female hearts to count. "Hey Kate," he drawled, winking at the blonde at the back who looked as if she was about to faint from the attention he was giving her, "and yep, it definitely seems so, at least from my schedule."

Kate – if that was the girl's name – smiled stupidly at Adrian, as if too smitten to formulate a reply, and Sydney resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Sure, he was handsome and pretty well put together, she got it. But seriously?

Tamping down a very unladylike snort, Sydney diverted her attention to pulling out her writing materials and getting comfortable in her seat while the sounds of Adrian and his entourage going through a series of complex ritual of hand greetings and exchanging of cheerful conversation filled the class. Despite everything, she sensed an underlying tension, like everybody was waiting expectantly for something big to happen.

Trying to appear disinterested in whatever was going on, Sydney leaned back in her seat and surreptitiously glanced in Adrian's direction to catch him looking around with a mildly distressed expression for what she assumed was a seat. Well, he had one just next to him, beside the blonde girl - Kate - who appeared to be having trouble breathing from just being in close proximity to him. The other students in the class had their heads down and looked to be engrossed in their work, but Sydney knew that they were just pretending. After all, she did that all the time.

Then Adrian's eyes landed on her for a disorientating moment, and it was as if she was staring into a sea of green. His gaze lingered long enough to make her feel uncomfortable – another testimony to her social awkwardness, since other girls would probably be swooning that they were actually noticed by him – then dropped down to the seat next to hers.

Comprehension dawned in the form of a wave of crashing panic. _He can't possibly mean to. . ._

But he did. All eyes were on Adrian as he moved gracefully towards Sydney, as he flashed a smile at her that would have made her heart race if it wasn't already pounding in her chest. . . before sliding into the seat next to her.

Sydney closed her eyes in dismay.

* * *

_Jab._

_Right cross._

_Left hook._

_Right cross._

Sweat trickled down his forehead, down to his eyes, blurring Eddie Castile's visions momentarily before he roughly swiped it away with the back of his hand and continued his hits on the punching bag without respite. His shirt was already drenched with sweat, and his muscles were starting to scream in protest at how hard he was pushing himself, but Eddie was too angry to care. He had _lost. _How could he have lost?

_Left uppercut._

_Right hook._

_Left elbow._

_Right elbow._

_Right kick._

Seconds became minutes until pain was the only thing he felt, his muscles burning and refusing to co-operate, his chest heaving so hard he felt as if he was about to pass out. Only then did Eddie allow himself to stop, to collapse heavily on the mattress of the gym and catch his breath. After that, he went through a series of cool down exercises and feeling a small bit of discomfort above his eyebrow, he touched it gingerly to discover a small scrape that he must have inflicted on himself when he was wiping away the sweat since he had his hand wraps on.

Dismissing it as insignificant, Eddie pushed himself to his feet, wincing when the bruises he had amassed in the fight declared their presence together in a cacophony of agony. Christ, he had to start avoiding punches rather than just tanking them. Limping to the showers, he quickly rinsed off the sweat and pulled on a T-shirt and jeans before slipping out of school, in no mood for classes. He was too uptight, too strung up to sit still.

Failure still leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, Eddie headed to the Steakhouse, the only place he had ever called home.

* * *

"You look as if the world is going to end tomorrow."

Glaring at her tray of food as if the lump of mashed potatoes and pasta had done her some great injustice by just sitting there, Rose shifted her attention to Adrian who was munching happily on a greasy fry. "If you don't keep your witty comments to yourself, Adrian, I'm going to shove my middle finger up where the sun don't shine."

Adrian just grinned. "I always knew you had a secret fetish about my ass." Ignoring the I'm-going-to-kill-you-in-your-sleep-tonight look Rose was sending his way, he turned to Lissa Dragomir, Rose's best friend. "Any idea what could have happened to our dear highness to get her panties in such a twist?"

Lissa shrugged, uncharacteristically quiet. "No clue," she answered vaguely without lifting her head up, still poking at her peas with her fork, sending them scuttling around her plate. Lissa was gorgeous, in a totally opposite way Rose was. She had long blonde hair that was so pale it bordered on white, a trim and petite figure that supermodels died for, and an angelic face so innocent it was a wonder she wasn't wrapped in bubblegum and displayed in a museum for people to admire.

Needless to say, Adrian had hit on her.

Twice.

He was rejected on both counts.

"What about Christian?" Adrian asked, wondering what happened to the blonde footballer. It wasn't like him to miss school – not that he was really into studying, but there was football practice today. And he never missed them. "Anybody saw him?"

Rose shook her head. Lissa, however, dropped her fork at the mention of Christian. Bending down to retrieve the utensil, Adrian zeroed in on her trembling fingers on the table, and a sniggering suspicion formed in his mind, but decided against pushing her for answers. He'll just go straight to Christian instead – he was way too honest to say anything but the truth.

"What is going on with you two?" Adrian complained, his exasperation showing. "I'm trying to lighten things up here, and what do I get for my efforts? A threat to have my anal virginity taken away by the rudest digit on a hand, and by a girl, no less."

Lissa didn't give any indication that she was even listening to his ramblings. Apparently, the wrinkled green peas she was pushing around held more appeal than him.

Rose just bestowed upon him a one-finger salute.

Adrian sighed. He seriously had to find some new friends.

An image of the girl he was sitting next to during chemistry popped into his mind, and he felt his mouth curve into a smile. It had taken a bit of asking and digging around before Adrian learnt of her name – she kept a damn low profile. Half of the people he asked weren't even aware she existed, and a majority of the others couldn't put a name to the face. Finally, he lucked out with someone he didn't even know, and yes, he was aware of the irony – her name was Sydney Sage.

He remembered the look of utter horror that had crossed her face when his gaze first fell on her, and a bubble of laughter almost worked free of his throat. Maybe that was what had compelled him to take the seat next to her – there had been other empty ones, especially the one beside Georgia, a lithesome cheerleader that was sending some hotly explicit signals. Adrian got off on teasing and tormenting people mercilessly; he liked to think that that was his talent. He didn't like thinking that he should maybe get a life.

But that was hardly the point.

Sydney had straight brown hair, a fair complexion and a pretty face. He won't call her beautiful, but she didn't fall into the 'cute' category either. After almost a year of contemplation and pondering, Adrian had come up with what should be the universally accepted hierarchy of words describing beauty. At the bottom of the pyramid resides 'nice', because face it, the only reason why anybody calls a girl nice and nothing else is if she's plain ugly.

Going a niche higher is 'cute', and that really shouldn't require an explanation at all.

Taking third place is 'pretty', which is pretty shallow as far as these words went.

The silver medal goes to 'beautiful'.

Last but not least, the champion – 'Gorgeous'.

There were other words as well, like 'hot' and 'sexy' and 'bombshell', but that would mean that his pyramid would have six levels, and everybody knew for a fact that all pyramids only had five levels.

Adrian thought that he should publish a book someday about his incredible findings. If he didn't, it just wouldn't be _fair _to the rest of the world.

Anyway, Sydney wasn't _gorgeous_ for sure, but she wasn't just merely pretty. One thing was for sure though; she had a great figure. Even her oversized T-shirt couldn't hide that, and that was saying something.

Rose stiffened then, and sitting opposite her, Adrian couldn't miss it. "What?" he asked, but she didn't answer him, instead craning her neck to peer at something behind him.

Turning around and not spotting anything that immediately jumped out at him, he looked back at Rose in puzzlement. "What?" he repeated again, and again he was ignored. Lissa, however, appeared to be in sync with Rose since she made a sound of surprise and continued staring.

Knowing the glint in Lissa's eyes all too well, when he followed Rose's and Lissa's stare, he kept his eyes peeled for an attractive guy. And hey, would you have it, he found him a split second later. He was hard to miss, considering that he stood out – literally – with his impressive height and build.

"Who's he? I've never seen him around before." Sizing him up in a second, Adrian ran his tongue over his teeth. He was in for some serious competition.

Lissa returned to brooding in silence, her peas long spilled over the side of her plate with her constant prodding.

"Transfer student," Rose muttered in answer to his question.

Adrian raised an eyebrow at the thread of uncertainty in her voice. "How would you know?"

"We talked." A clipped reply.

"Wow, any more elaboration and I would have died from the overwhelming amount of details."

Rose snorted, standing up. "Be happy you got that much." Then she was marching off, leaving him alone with Lissa, who had started on her next victim – this time her mushroom soup. Shaking his head, Adrian leaned back in his chair and when he looked at the new guy again, it was to find him staring at Rose's retreating back with an inscrutable expression.

_Hmmm._

* * *

Fuck, any ideas on how I can divide the answers of the characters? It looks too cluttered that way, and hard to read. I've tried to put in some symbols, but FF just deletes it...


	4. Chapter 4: Friendship

**A/N: **Nothing much to say, so just read and enjoy! Thanks for the answers to my question about the cafeteria food by the way! :) I promise that there'll be more RxD in the next chapter. Need to do a time skip soon, but there are still some things left unsettled, so I have to do some more boring chapters about the interactions between the characters, so just bear with me, alright?

_**What is your opinion on the seven deadly sins?**_

_****"Seven sins? What seven sins? The only sin known to man are condoms. Seriously, who the fuck invented them?" - Adrian Ivashkov_

_~o~_

_"What is there to be opiniated about? They're supposedly the root of all evil. However, if I was allowed to do a little editing, I'll be adding stupidity as one of them as well." - Sydney Sage_

_~o~_

_"Man should be wary of them. Fall trap to one, and it'll be your downfall." - Dimitri Belikov_

_~o~_

_"I think I'm guilty of sloth. The others? Not so much." - Rose Hathaway_

_~o~_

_"I think everybody is guilty of at least one of them... Except for Adrian, of course. He's guilty of them all." - Lissa Dragomir_

_~o~_

_"What can I say? Don't ever commit any of those sins, and you're safe." - Christian Ozera_

_~o~_

_"Wrath. How is that a sin?" - Eddie Castile_

_~o~_

_"I agree with them, but it's impossible not to commit one of those sins in your lifetime. Just don't go overboard, and you'll be fine." - Jill Maestro_

_~o~_

* * *

_You are one fucking retard, my friend. _

Christian couldn't help but agree with the voice in his head.

He _was _a retard – and a gigantic one at that.

Groaning when a flash of memory – Lissa's gaping mouth, his pounding heart, the awkward silence – resurfaced, he smothered his face in his pillow as if by doing so, he would be able to escape the embarrassment and humiliation hounding him since yesterday afternoon.

It was one thing to admit to liking your best friend of almost a decade, but to do that _and_ backpedal immediately after when she was too stunned to reply and drop another bomb on her about you wanting to be her friend with benefits?

Not the smartest thing to do.

It was at that moment that his phone rang, playing the irritatingly cheerful whistling at the start of Flo Rida's song, 'Whistle' – a ringtone that Adrian had personally requested Christian to set for him. "You need something to set the awesome me apart from the others," Adrian had insisted, and as always, Christian had given in to his pestering. The act of mustering up enough willpower to reach for the device a herculean effort, Christian grunted in lieu of a hello, "what is it, Adrian?"

"Good afternoon to you too, my dearest Christian." His spirits in no way dampened by his discouraging greeting, Adrian continued jauntily, "I bet that you're wondering to what do you owe the great pleasure of a phone call from me to. Well, to not prolong your suffering, I'll get right to the point. Why did you leave me to my lonesome self in school today?"

Christian closed his eyes, really, _really_ not wanting to have a conversation with Adrian right then. "I'm not feeling very well."

"Oh, really? Perhaps I should pay you a visit after school to make sure that you're not down with something life threatening."

"That's not necessary."

"Come on, Christian, I'm worried about you – "

"Cut the crap, Adrian," he snapped, too surly to be diplomatic with his friend, "what do you want to know?"

"Testy, testy." A light chuckle. "Has your new and improved attitude got something to do with your girlfriend Lissa?"

Christian tensed at just the mere mention of her name, his hand squeezing his phone. Deliberately forcing himself to loosen his hold, he tried for a nonchalant answer, "Whatever made you think that?"

"Just a wild guess. You know how I am."

"Yeah, an asshole."

"Touché. So, you sure that there's nothing going on between you and Lissa?"

"There's nothing going on between me and Lissa," Christian repeated dutifully. _Liar, liar!_

"Is that the case?"

"Is what the case?"

Adrian's laugh made him uneasy. "Christian, you know you're a horrible liar."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, getting into a sitting position. Shit, it was twelve-thirty already? Who ever thought that wallowing in one's misery could be so time-consuming?

There was the unmistakable sound of the bell ringing in the background. "There goes the bell. I better get a move on or I'll be late for next period." A pause, a bit of shuffling. "And Christian?"

He halted in the middle of ending the call. "Yeah?"

"You're not getting away that easily." He hung up. Christian blew out a breath slowly after the disconnection, placing his phone back onto his bed.

Oh yeah, he was definitely royally fucked.

* * *

Dimitri had never been particularly good at shying away from the limelight, at not drawing attention to himself. It was partially due to his bulk, but the bigger factor in play was how he _liked _being the center of attention. The upsides to it were endless – popularity, girls and respect, just to name a few. And even though he might have had a change of heart since his glory days, old habits died hard.

So he found himself responding to more than one interested glances and inquiring looks with a smile that he hoped wasn't too overt in case it encouraged them, but with enough wattage for him to seem friendly. He didn't want to establish a reputation as a playboy, but he didn't want to act like a loner either. And God knows that if he just added a broody attitude to his appearance, he'll have that look all down.

"Hey, you new around here?"

Dimitri slanted the guy falling into step beside him a glance, recognizing him as the boy that Rose had been having lunch with. With facial features so striking and elegant they belonged more on a girl than a boy, he was a pretty one. A thought occurred to Dimitri then that he might actually be Rose's boyfriend. . . he certainly looked the part. Annoyed that he couldn't get her off his mind for more than a few minutes at a time, he replied gruffly, "Yeah."

"Name's Adrian." He offered his hand, and Dimitri shook it. He had a firm grip, and the glint in his eyes told Dimitri that he was assessing him even as he did the exact same thing. One thing was for sure – this person was no pushover.

"Dimitri." The handshake lasted a beat longer than necessary.

Then Adrian grinned, pulling back his hand, and gone was the tension in the air. "So. . . the dark, silent type, huh?"

"Is that the impression I'm giving?"

"Sorta," Adrian answered with a casual shrug, ostensibly unbothered by how he was a good few inches shorter than him. "You just give off that vibe. Kinda distant and aloof. Still, that's not a bad thing. Girls dig guys like that, what with all the Twilight and Vampire Diaries yahoo going around."

"I'm not into those stuff."

"Huh, who would've guessed?" Adrian frowned at something on his screen of his phone that he had just pulled out, fiddling with it for a few moments before pocketing it again. "Oh, right. What sport did you play back in your old school?"

Dimitri's grimaced at the remembrance of the 'sport' he had dived into with fervor. "I'm not much of a sportsman." No, he had been so immersed in _other_ activities, he hardly had time for school, much less sports.

"You're kidding me, right? You'll fit right in with the football guys. Shit, the wrestling coach will cut off his right hand to have you on the team."

"He won't be so intent on amputation once he sees how I am in the ring."

"What about basketball?" Adrian's eyebrows knitted together when he shook his head. "Soccer?" Dimitri shook his head again. "Shit, athletics? Anything?"

"I've never played any of those before."

"You can't be serious," Adrian protested in a perplexed tone. "Not even recreational sports? Bowling, swimming, stuff like that?"

Bemused by his response, Dimitri simply said, "nope."

Adrian looked slightly faint. "We gotta hook you up with someone, man. Can't let all that potential go to waste. Shit, my friend Christian's the quarterback for the football team; I'll ask him to convince the coach to let you tryout. If that ain't your style, you can always opt for wrestling – just tell me."

Dimitri grunted a noncommittal reply, highly aware of all the appreciative looks they were gathering from the girls lingering in the hallway. Adrian was soaking it all up with a confidence that shouted his social standing in the school loud and clear. In any other situation, he would have been a great friend to have. . . but Dimitri was trying to stay under the radar, which meant that he should be steering clear of Adrian.

Who was a friend of Rose.

Damn.

Reminding himself that he had no business in getting to know her, Dimitri pulled out his schedule from his bag to check what he was having for the next period. _Calculus, room 203. _"There's my class," he said meaningfully with a tilt of his chin forward at a classroom with an open door, the numbers 203 above it – subtlety had never been his strong suit.

Adrian, as expected, took the hint and backed off gracefully, inclining his head in understanding. "I won't bother you any longer, then. And If you ever need anybody to show you the ropes around here, you know who to call." Another grin, and he was waltzing away, disappearing around the corner. Staring gravely at the spot Adrian had last been, Dimitri shouldered his bag and ducked into the classroom.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by in a blur, and before Rose knew it, the final bell was ringing. Packing up and calling out a few words of parting to her classmates amidst the noisy chatter that had erupted at the sound of the bell, she stepped into the hallway and headed for her locker to deposit some books. Smiling when she saw Lissa with her head in her locker beside hers, she hurried over and tapped her best friend on her shoulder. "Hey Lissa!"

Lissa startled at her touch, her head colliding against the locker door with a low _thunk. _"Ouch!"

"Crap, you okay?" Rose smiled sheepishly when Lissa turned to glare at her while rubbing the side of her head with her palm. "Sorry 'bout that."

"How many times have I told you not to creep up on me like that?" Lissa grumbled sourly, glancing at her palm to make sure that she wasn't bleeding. "You know that I scare easily."

Rose offered her the best apologetic look she could come up with. "I'll buy you a smoothie later."

Lissa put her hands on her hips, but she was smiling. "Trying to bribe me, Miss Hathaway?"

"Is it working?"

Lissa just grinned in response, hefting her bag and nudging her locker shut with her elbow, watching as Rose stuffed her locker full of books.

"You seem a bit mellow today," Rose said when she was done, zipping up her bag. "Something I should know about?"

Lissa clammed up so suddenly it was obvious she was hiding something. "No," she denied again, her lips pursed. Changing the subject hastily, Lissa tugged at Rose's hand. "Come on, let's go. Adrian and the other guys" – her voice momentarily faltered at the 'other guys', something Rose found fascinating – "are waiting for us at The Steakhouse."

"Lissa – "

Desperation flashed in her eyes, and Lissa squeezed her hand pleadingly. "Please, Rose, don't push, okay? You know I won't keep anything from you unless I absolutely have to."

Rose hesitated, but finally relented. "Fine," she said, "but the moment things get outta hand, you better tell me – "

"I know, I know," Lissa mumbled in a rush, edgy and nervous. She was looking around like a rabbit being circled by a pack of wolves. "Let's just go, okay?"

Letting Lissa pull her out of the hallway urgently, Rose thought she saw Christian moving right past them in the opposite direction, but the crowd was too thick, and he was gone in a flash.


	5. Chapter 5: Revival!

A/N: Hey peeps. I'm sorry for being MIA for so long. I'm a lazy ass fucker, and that haven't changed a bit over the past few months. What have changed is my relationship status, from single to afraid of commitment. Yes, I'm fucking scared shitless at the thought of being tied down. Let's not even talk about marriage.

Anywho, if anybody wants to know my twitter (I follow back as long as you are moderately sane, have decent music taste and tweet in English) so you can, I don't know, stalk me or finally know how I look like (I promise I'm not hideous!), just PM me.

* * *

If Eddie was asked what he loved the most about working at the Roadhouse, it was the friendly, impersonal interactions with the customers. As a rotating waiter cum bartender, he was never short on opportunities to chat and discover snippets of information about other people's life. It always perked him right up, getting him through his monotonous way of life after the accident that almost broke him, but only succeeded in making him become more independent and strong, both physically and mentally.

However, as at odds as it may seem, he also enjoyed the peace and quiet during closing time. It gave him time to reflect – or brood, depending on your perspective – on certain matters and mill over his uncertain future. As a budding professional fighter with a wide diversity of martial arts under his belt, Eddie had been approached by numerous scouts from different colleges all over the state. He had stalled all of their enquiries, partially to keep his options open, partially due to his hardly stellar results.

If he didn't pull up his socks academic-wise soon, no college would be willing to take him in.

And it was with that dark, depressing thought in his mind that Eddie looked up at his friends. Adrian was to his side, while Lissa and Rose sat opposite the table. The Roadhouse, the diner they were in, was modestly sized with chocolate brown as the main color theme. Eight immense pillars made to look like oak trunks held up the two-story building that had been around for a few decades. The interior was well furnished, with paintings of mainly the countryside decorating the walls. A modern bar area occupied an entire corner, while there was a stage on the other corner for bands to perform at. The warm lighting provided a surreal ambience, making the interior feel more austere than ever.

Eddie loved it.

That was one of the two reasons why he worked at said diner.

The other was that the day he reached maturity – 21 years of age, as stated in his father's will – he will officially become the owner of the restaurant. Right then, Stan, a close friend of his father oversaw the day-to-day running of the Roadhouse. He was the closest to a paternal figure Eddie ever had.

"Is eating with us really such a chore that you have to resort to retreating into your own fantasy world in that head of yours?" Adrian's voice cut through his musings. "And here I thought you enjoyed my company."

"That's about as likely as me migrating to Siberia."

"I heard the weather's pretty good there this time of the year."

Eddie just stared at him.

Rose snickered at the two of them, having had polished off her plate of pizza. "I thought you knew better than to banter with him, Adrian. Conversations between the two of you never seem to exceed three sentences."

"It'll only be a matter of time before he starts to realize how much he appreciates my humor."

"I won't hold my breath," Eddie said sardonically, then directed his next question at the two girls. "Any of you saw Christian today? He wasn't there during gym class."

Rose shook her head while sipping from her coke through a straw at the same time Lissa said quickly, "no."

"He didn't come to school," Adrian answered instead, spearing a fry with his fork then flavoring it with a generous amount of chili sauce. "Said he was down with some bug."

Eddie didn't bother hiding his skepticism. "Christian? Down with a flu?" Rose looked equally doubtful.

Adrian popped the fry into his mouth and chewed slowly, all the while looking at Lissa who colored and ducked her head a little. "I didn't specify what sort of bug was it," he drawled.

"Am I missing something here?" Rose asked Lissa, and when she didn't respond, Adrian.

"It's just a guess." Adrian shrugged, but there was that unmistakable glee in his eyes. "But I'm almost never wrong, so…" His gaze never left Lissa, and she was starting to look positively ill.

Rose evidently didn't like how uncomfortable her best friend was getting. "Stop scaring her, you asshole or I'll personally make your nightmares a – " She stopped when Lissa touched her shoulder, shaking her head. "I can handle this," Lissa assured her before pointing at Adrian. "We need to talk. Now."

Adrian blinked at the command in her voice. Once. Twice. Then, "Can I at least finish my meal first?"

"No."

A smile tugged at his lips, and Lissa's mood only soured further. "What's so funny?"

"You barking out orders. Anger doesn't suit you at all." Adrian rose and stepped out of the booth, followed quickly by Lissa, her movements stiff with anger. "Lead the way, sweetheart. I am ready to be verbally abused in any way you deem necessary."

Not even bothering to reply, Lissa stalked away, a very amused Adrian keeping pace with her effortlessly. An elbow propped on the table with his chin on his knuckles, Eddie watched as the two of them headed to a deserted corner.

"I take it you have no idea what's going on?"

Damn it. They were too far away for him to make out anything they were saying. "Not a clue," he told Rose, taking in Lissa's very expressive and very aggravated gestures. She was worked up over something – but what? It definitely had something to do with Christian, and his first thought was that they were secretly dating. Wouldn't come as much of a surprise to him, since he had always thought that the two of them were pretty damn compatible.

"Join the club."

"Lissa didn't tell you anything?"

Rose stirred her drink with her straw with a slight pout. "Not even when I pushed her to. Whatever it is, she's being really secretive about it."

"Did anything happen between Christian and her?"

Rose took a moment to think it over. "Not that I know of," she said slowly, pensively, and after a short pause, "but now that you mention it. . ."

Eddie turned to face her.

"Lissa called me yesterday night. She sounded a little shaken up and was very hesitant, ending the call almost immediately with the excuse that she was tired." Rose put down her drink. "If I remember correctly, she told me before that she was going out with Christian yesterday for dinner."

A few scenarios popped into his mind, some of which he thought very possible. "Sounds suspicious."

"You think there's something going on between the two of them?"

"I don't think so, Rose. I _know_ so_," _Eddie said. "The real question is what's going on."

"Impossible. Those two have been friends for so long!"

"Ten bucks that I'm right."

"You're on."

* * *

There was one thing in the world that Lissa hated more than homework.

And that one thing was talking to Adrian Ivashkov.

Not only was he one of the most egoistical guy she ever had the misfortune to meet, he had the looks and charisma to warrant it. Every red blooded woman would find him appealing, and she was no exception. The boy bordering on maturity was gorgeous; all six feet two of him. The only thing that had held her back from dating him a year ago when he had asked her out was her tingling sixth sense warning her that he was nothing but trouble.

She was right, of course. If she had accepted his offer, Lissa had no doubts in her mind that Adrian would have found a way to charm her pants off her, making her one of the many notches on his bedpost.

Thank goodness for female intuition.

With a fresh bite of anger, she glared up at him. "How much do you know?"

"Depends on what you're talking about."

"You know very damn well what I'm talking about!"

"Refresh my memory."

Bristling, Lissa folded her arms to stop herself from giving in to the urge to brutally maim Adrian. "Me and Christian, you oaf!"

A single eyebrow lifted. "So you two are officially a pair?"

"No!" That single word flew out of her mouth before Adrian even finished speaking and her hands went to her cheeks as she felt them heat up. "What I meant, uh, was that there's nothing going on between me and Christian." Her spine straightened in affront again. "And even if there was, it's none of your damn business!"

Droll, Adrian stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "No need to get so agitated, sweetheart. I was just asking. And if that's really the case, why are you two avoiding each other?"

"One, don't call me sweetheart. Save that for the next poor girl that comes along and catches your eye. Two, I am _not _avoiding him. He's the one avoiding me, not the other way around."

"Jealous?"

Lissa scoffed. "You wish."

"A man can hope." His eyes twinkled before he said, "I think we can both agree that this conversation is going nowhere. You're clearly not going to tell me anything."

"I don't see the need to."

"Fair enough." Adrian pushed off the wall and started walking back to their table. "I'm running late for training anyway."

Lissa trailed behind him. "So you're not going to pursue this matter any further?"

Smirking at her incredulity, Adrian said, "I didn't say that."

"You're annoying."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment!"

"And that's supposed to bother me?"

Lissa was seriously considering stabbing Adrian in the back with a fork when he said, "I saw Christian just now at school. Probably couldn't bear the thought of missing football practice."

That easily, her thoughts scrambled. "And what has that got to do with me?" she asked carefully, not wanting to give away anything.

"Tasha was all over him in the locker room."

Lissa's blood went cold.

Tasha was the head cheerleader, and she had this misplaced notion in her head that because of her position, it automatically meant that the quarterback of the football team belonged to her. Ever since sophomore year, she had been coming on to Christian with a tenacity that would otherwise have been admirable – if it had not grated on her nerves so much. So far, Christian had never shown any interest in her, but even Lissa had to admit that Tasha was quite the voluptuous beauty.

Maybe her reaction last night. . .

She barely kept herself from cursing out loud.

"Just thought that you should know."

"I don't care," Lissa told him as they reached the booth once again.

"Sure." Adrian sent a knowing look her way, digging a few crisp notes out and placing them on the table to pay for his meal. "I'm off guys. See ya all tomorrow."

"I'm serious, Adrian. I don't care!" Lissa raised her voice at his retreating figure but got no response.

"You okay, Lissa?" Rose asked, frowning.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she muttered, hastily grabbing her bag and hefting it over her shoulder. "I need to go now too. Bye!"

Rose stared at Lissa as she left the Roadhouse, leaving a metaphorical cloud of dust in her wake.

Wordlessly, she pulled a ten dollar bill from her wallet and pushed it towards Eddie.


End file.
